William Ernest Henley Poems

William Ernest HenleyWilliam Ernest Henley (August 23, 1849 – July 11, 1903) was an English poet,
critic and editor.
Henley was born at Gloucester and educated at the Crypt Grammar School. The
school was a poor relation of the Cathedral School, and Henley indicated its
shortcomings in his article, Pall Mall Magazine (Nov. 1900), on T. E. Brown, the
poet who was headmaster there for a brief period. Brown's appointment was a
stroke of luck for Henley, for whom it represented a first acquaintance with a
man of genius: "He was singularly kind to me at a moment when I needed kindness
even more than I needed encouragement". Brown did him the essential service of
lending him books. Henley was no classical scholar, but his knowledge and love
of literature were vital.
At the age of 12 Henley became a victim of tuberculosis of the bone. In spite of
his affliction, in 1867 he successfully passed the Oxford local examination as a
senior student. But a hospital was to be Henley's university. His diseased foot,
treated by crude methods, had to be amputated directly below the knee. Worse
yet, physicians announced that the only way to save his life was to amputate the
other also. Henley fought this prognosis with all his spirit. The radical
surgical methods pioneered by Joseph Lister saved Henley's foot and indeed his
life. He was discharged from hospital in 1875 and was able to lead an active
life for nearly 30 years. His friend, Robert Louis Stephenson, based his
Treasure Island character, Long John Silver, on Henley.[citation needed]
His literary connections also led to his sickly young daughter Margaret being
immortalised by J.M. Barrie in his children's classic "Peter Pan."[citation
needed] Unable to speak clearly, the young Margaret referred to Barrie as her
"Friendy Wendy", leading to the introduction of the name Wendy. Alas, Margaret
never read the book as she died at the age of 6 and was buried at the country
estate of her father's friend, Harry Cockayne Cust, in Cockayne Hatley,
Bedfordshire.